Sights & Attractions in Palma de Mallorca
Palma Aquarium
If visiting an aquarium doesn’t sound like your idea of fun, you should make Palma Aquarium an exception. It has been developed by Coral World International, who are renowned for creating beautiful marine parks in Hawaii, the Red Sea and Australia. The Palma Aquarium is the newest of the group, having opened in 2007. The designers have faithfully recreated the habitats and ecosystems of the world’s seas and oceans to capture the excitement of the world below the tropical waters. Along with the multitude of fish tanks, you’ll find a large garden with play area for the kids, and a huge jungle roof garden. ...read more
Spanish Village (Poble Espanyol), Palma de Mallorca
Spain gets the theme-park treatment at this 'village' in the outskirts of Palma, where reproductions of famous buildings from Cordoba, Toledo and Madrid are gathered together with typical houses from the Spanish regions. You can eat Spanish food in the Plaza Mayor (Spanish spellings here) or sit outside a cafe watching the tourists buy pearls and souvenirs at the village shops. ...read more
Passeig des Born, Palma de Mallorca
For more than a century this short, tree-lined promenade has been at the heart of city life; it has witnessed festas, demonstrations and countless generations of families enjoying an evening stroll. During the Franco era it was renamed after the dictator, but everyone still called it 'the Born'. ...read more
Parc de la Mar, Palma de Mallorca
Until the 1960s the sea reached up to the city walls, providing the perfect reflection for the cathedral. When the building of a new road changed all that, an artificial lake was constructed to reproduce the effect. The park around the lake is now a popular weekend and summer spot, with several cafes, outdoor concerts, a mural donated by Joan Miro and an art gallery in the vaults of the old city walls. Sit beneath the palm trees gazing up at the cathedral and try to imagine the travellers of days gone by arriving at this same spot from the sea by boat.
Palma Cathedral, Palma de Mallorca
The glory of Palma - a magnificent Gothic cathedral whose sandstone walls and flying buttresses seem to rise out of the sea. Anything you see inside Palma cathedral will come as a disappontment once you have stood on the seafront and gazed up at its golden sandstone exterior climbing above the old city walls. La Seu stands out from its surroundings, a demonstration of the might of Mallorca's Christian conquerors to all who arrived by sea. ...read more
Palace de l'Almundaina, Palma de Mallorca
A royal palace has stood on this site next to Palma's cathedral since the Muslim walis (governors) built their alcazar soon after the Arab conquest. It was converted into Gothic style under Jaume II, but elements of Islamic architecture remain - like the Moorish arches seen from the seafront, lit up at night like a row of lanterns. ...read more
Olivar Market, Palma de Mallorca - Food Market
When you're tired of tourist sights and want to meet the people of Palma instead, head for this covered market. It is a feast for the eyes - dazzling displays of flowers, huge piles of oranges, buckets full of olives, fish you never knew existed.The stalls hold excellent quality fruit and vegetables, and there is a separate fish market annexed in an adjacent building. ...read more
Museum of Spanish Contemporary Art (Colleccio March), Palma de Mallorca
The Museu Fundación Juan March houses a small collection of 20th century Spanish art belonged to the Mallorcan banker Joan March, once one of the world's richest men. It is housed in a 17th-century mansion that was originally built as a residence, but was redesigned in the early 20th century and turned in to a museum in 1990. There are just 70 pieces, each by a different artist, including Picasso, Dali and Miro. ...read more
Museu Diocesa, Palma de Mallorca
This small museum of religious and historical antefacts is based in a wing of the former episcopal palace tucked behind the cathedral. Among the paintings, pulpits and prayer books are splendid Arab tapestries, a collection of ceramics spanning five centuries and a 17th century painting of baby Jesus carrying a cross. Look out for the portrait of St George (Sant Jordi) with medieval Palma in the background. Opening hours are 10am to 1.30pm, and 3pm to 6pm.
Museu de Mallorca, Palma de Mallorca
Billed as Mallorca's most important museum, this undoubtedly contains some fascinating exhibits but the displays lack imaginaton and it is difficult to get excited about bits of stone in glass cases if you do not understand the captions. Talaiotic and Roman remains are followed by Moorish ceramics and Christian art, providing a quick overview of Mallorcan history. It's worth the entrance fee just to see the building, a 17th-century palace built on the foundations of one of Mallorca's earliest Arab houses. Opening hours are 10am to 2pm, and 4pm to 7pm.
La Llotja, Palma de Mallorca - Cultural Centre
With twin turrets and an angel over the door, this 15th century seafront building looks half-castle, half-church. In fact it is neither. It was designed by Guillem Sagrera (the architect of the cathedral's Portal del Mirador) as the city's exchange when Mallorca was a major maritime trading centre in the 15th century. ...read more
Fundacio La Caixa, Palma de Mallorca - Gallery
The Gran Hotel was Palma's first luxury hotel when it opened in 1903. Designed by the Catalan architect Lluis Domenech I Montaner, it was the building that began the craze for modernists (art nouveau) architecture in the city. Restored by the Fundacio la Caixa and reopened in 1993, it is now an art gallery featuring changing exhibitions and a permanent display of paintings by Hermen Anglada-Camarasa, the founder of the 'Pollenca school'. ...read more
Castell de Bellver, Palma de Mallorca - Castle
A well-preserved 14th-century royal fortress with fragrant pine woods, an interesting museum and superb views over Palma Bay. Looking up at this castle, so perfectly maintained, it is hard to believe that it has been standing for almost 700 years. Begun by Jaume II in 1300 and built by Pere Salva, the architect of the Almudaina Palace, it is unique among Spanish castles in being entirely round. ...read more
Basilica de Sant Francesc, Palma de Mallorca
The facade of this 13th century church in Palma (remodelled after it was struck by lightning in the 17th century) is typically Mallorcan - a massive, forbidding sandstone wall with a delicately carved postal and a rose window at the centre. You enter through peaceful Gothic cloisters with orange and lemon trees and a well at the centre. ...read more
Banys Arabs (Arab Baths), Palma de Mallorca
These 10th century baths are virtually all that remain of the Arab city of Medina Mayurqa (now known as Palma). They were probably part of a nobleman's house and are similar to those found in other Islamic cities. The tepidarium has a dome in the shape of a half orange, with 25 round shafts for sun light, supported by a dozen columns. ...read more
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